Photo taken on April 25, 2020 from the Kya Wu Lha Pass shows the Mount Qomolangma at sunrise in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Purbu Zhaxi)
LHASA, May 1 (Xinhua) -- The world's highest-altitude 5G base station started operation on Thursday, with its signal covering the summit of Mount Qomolangma.
Built at an altitude of 6,500 meters, the station is located at the advanced base camp of Mount Qomolangma, the world's highest peak, according to telecom giant China Mobile.
The station, along with another two that were previously built at altitudes of 5,300 meters and 5,800 meters respectively, realizes the full coverage of 5G signal of Mount Qomolangma on the north ridge as well as the summit.
Zhou Min, general manager of Tibet branch of China Mobile, said the facility will ensure telecommunication for the activities of mountain climbing, scientific research, environmental monitoring and high-definition livestreaming.
Photo taken on April 28, 2020 shows the Mount Qomolangma at sunrise in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)
The building of 5G infrastructure is in tandem with the measuring of the height of the peak, which officially started on Thursday.
The base station at 5,300 meters is expected to serve the base camp area. Once 5G is commercially available, climbers, tourists and local residents will be able to use the service in the base camp area. The base stations at 5,800 meters and 6,500 meters above sea level are temporary base stations to provide signal coverage over the climbing route to the summit. The base stations are expected to be dismantled after the completion of the elevation survey in 2020.
Located at the China-Nepal border, Mount Qomolangma has an altitude of more than 8,840 meters, with its north part located in Xigaze prefecture of Tibet Autonomous Region. ■
